Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-06-23
A TOWN OF THE PAST.
sseuhsrdstown In the Shenandoah val
10y. and Its Romances.
rov,>cal Correspoudence.1


ISpecisl Correspondence
WHEELING, w. Va, June ID.
A. TIA Aaad OF the beautiful valley OF the
Shenandoah. on the bank of the river Swans,
lies a small town Of about ZOO inhabitants.
To the casual observer the sleepy village
possesses no object Of especial interest, save
that of the picturesque scenery surrounding
il. In the spring of 1874 a number OF Ger
man emigrants, moving southwark through
Pennsylvania and by way of the Upper Hun
bred Of Frederick county, Nd, crossed the
Potomac at what was then called the "fack
Horse Ford" and formed settlement on the
right bank of the river, about a nile ABOVE
the ford. Mindful of their former homes IN
fatherland, they named their infant colony
Mecklenburg, which it continued to be called
until l76O, when Thomas Shepherd, one of its
citizens, who owned the land Immediately ad-
Joining, had a portion of his property laid off
in town lots, and obtaining charter of incor-
poration from the Virginia house Of bur-
gesses had the name of the village changed
to Sheperdstown.
Notwithstanding the fact that in 1741 Sir
Alexander Spotswood led his Knights of the
Golden Horseshoe to the summit of the Blue
Ridge mountains and brought back glowing
descriptions of the fertile region beyond,
this was only the second settlement in that
wild, picturesque and remote valley. Win
chester, long the frontier outpost Of the col
ony. was established but two years before.
Shepherdstown, therefore, is the Oldest town
in West Virginia. Many traditions have
come down to us from those early pioneers.
On the turnpike not far from the town is a
hollow just below what is known as the "Big
Hill" There, it is said the Indians long
years ago bound a white woman to an oak
tree and cruelty tortured her to death. And
now the belated traveller as he passes by is
sure to feel her warm breath fan his cheel
if he has vivid imagination added to Tam
OShanter's failing. In the woods Just beyond
clanking chains are heard and headless horse
men abound, and the superstitious initiate the
unfortunate Ichabod Crane, in that they i'll
variably meet one Of these interesting spec
ters. though, unlike him, they live to tell the
tale to any who will believe Bet ween the
hollow and the woods in ante-revolutionary
days. stood an inn known as Travellers Rest,
and the story runs that Washington, when
on his way to survey Lord Fairfax's vast
territory of land, stopped there over night
and Joined in a dance that was going on.
The house, with its old fashioned fireplaces
set across the corners, was afterward altered
and added to as a private residence but dur
ing the civil war it was burned to the ground
Across the railroad to the left of the famous
Morgan's spring, where in the early summer
OF ITO one of the three companies
at Shepherdstown sent out to fight,
lin defense of American liberty" the
first in all the south to cross the Potomac,
made its celebrated "bee line march for Bos-
ton" about which so much has been said and
sung. When Washington saw the familiar
hunting shirts and heard them report from
the south bank of the Potomac, it is said he
shed tears of joy, and, dismounting, walked
down the line and grasped each hardy minute
man by the hand. In every war that has oc-
CURED since then-the Indian wars of the
west, the war of 1912, the Mexican war, the
Florida war and the late civil war-Shep-
herdstown has always borne her part. and
has been honorably represented by many of
her gallant sons. A quarter of mile walk
down the railroad track brings us to the
lower end of the main street of the town. a
mile OF neatly painted churches, dwellin .
houses and stores On the hill two bricA
churches face each other-the German Re
formed and Lutheran. In the German Re,
formed churchyard are many old sandstone
toMbstones, roughly hewed and lettered in
German. The Oldest are doubtless sunk in
the ground or crumbled away, as the remain
ing ones are half in that condition now.
The CLINE of bells up in the belfrv has
reached "green old age" and the solid ma
sonry OF the stone tower which was built for
it is the only part now left of the original
church where the Lutheran and German Re-
formed congregations formerly worshiped
together. The date on the oldest of the three
bells is 1853, and the second bell wa. given
by Michael Yeasley, a worthy citizen of the
town. When the bell arrived it was taken to
his house, still standing on the main street.
where it was filled with wine and then both
minister and congregation joined in a rather
unique fashion OF dedicating it to the church.
The custom OF tolling the passing bell is al
ways observed, and on New Years eve the
old chimes toll out the dying year and ring il,
welcome to the new.
Shepherdstown is well supplied with
churches and schools, and during its colonial
life was quite flourishng place. Among it,
industries were tanneries, where, besides the
hides OF domestic animals. the skins of deer
were prepared, buckskin breeches being the
ordinary wear of it's men, 1t also had a ON,
factory and one for making files, and they
tell us OF the time when goods from whole
sale houses were wagoned to Winchester and
all parts OF the lower valley. 1t has, besides
all this, furnished three governors to Ohio
viz, Tiffin, Morrow and Worthingtop, VIII,
were natives OF the place, and five member.
Of congress, viz, Morrow, Baker, Swear
ingen, Bedinger and Boiler
A few hundred yards more down the rail
ROAD track brings us to where the Shenan
doah railroad bridge crosses the river at =
distance of ITO feet above the water. II
view from the bridge is surprisingly beauti
full, with the smooth green slope of the Mary
land shore down to the canal and on the Vii
ginia side the tall cliffs, with alternate bar,
rocks and rich foliage. Near by is the custo
mary Lovers Leap" which every rive,
claims. This tale is Of a dusky India,
maiden and her lover from another tribe
Naturally, "the match didn't happen to pleas.
the old folk" SO the unhappy pair deter
| mined to drown their woes and precipitate,
themselves from the cliff into the river be
low. But greater interest than that of In
dian legeisas pertains to Shepherdstown, for i
gave to the world the first success
full steamboat. This boat was inyente,
by James Rumsey, in 1873, and exhib
tied to the public on the Potomac her
in 17s6, after having previously been teste.
in private in the presence of q number O
Rumsey's personal friends, among whom wa
Gen. Washington. Part of the boiler of thi
eff